Beyond Crex

Yes, even I take an occasional picture outside of Burnett county. A friend and I went to Sax Zim bog yesterday to check out the feeders and look for variety in winter birds. We didn't see a lot of variety but the weather was great and the local folks were very friendly. I chose a double cheeseburger from the Meadowlands Cafe thinking it would be like a MacDonalds burger, I could not have been more surprised to see the hand made half pound of hamburger patty on a bun! We took a few photos and had a great time exploring the area.
Dale

Feeder Activity

A Morning at the Feeder from Dale Bohlke on Vimeo.

I don't usually photograph at feeders but the winter is getting long and John Menge has placed a couple of them in very photogenic locations. One is at the West Marshland townhall parking lot which produced this experience last week. One of the challenges of video is getting 10 seconds of footage at a time. Chickadees are almost impossible to record this long. By the time they are in the viewfinder and in focus they are ready to move on. The nuthatches were using this limb and I just waited for them to come back to it. In the meantime my attention was diverted to this mouse.
Dale

Q:When is a mouse not a mouse? A: When it is a red backed vole. Thanks to John for the ID.

Interesting

Since things are kind of slow around here right now I thought I would share a link to this interesting post from the Illinois Birders' Forum that a friend posted on Facebook. There's a great sequence of photos to go with it.
Golden Eagle attacks White-Tailed deer

Kathy J.

Tracks in the Frost

February is the month for frost. Any morning with an above freezing temperature the previous day has potential for it. Animals are moving more, especially the predators, in preparation for spring denning. Most mating has already been done. The bald eagles are checking out their nest on Dueholm Flowage. Cardinals are calling in the morning. The season of silence is winding down.
Dale

Sax Zim Bog Trip

After the Crex photo club meeting last Saturday, 4 of us went on an overnight birding trip to Sax Zim Bog in Minnesota.  We were fortunate to see (5) Northern Hawk Owls and a female Black-backed Woodpecker but the Boreal Chickadees and Great Gray Owls eluded us. The Northern Hawk Owl above was very patient with us and seemed just as curious of us as we were of it. I think it had to cross it's eyes to look down at us.

There are 3 feeders set up in the area and each feeder station had a deer carcass nearby with a platform feeder filled with sunflower seeds. Kim Dauer, LouAnn Wheeler and John Menge are setting up for photos at the feeder located on Owl Avenue. We saw a large flock of Ravens, Red-breasted Nuthatches and Black-capped Chickadees at this feeder plus a little Red Squirrel that made itself at home smack dab in the middle of the feeder.

We spent the night in Hibbing and left the next morning at sunrise to continue our quest.  (Now anyone who knows me knows I am NOT a morning person!)

Eagle-eye Kim spotted this female Black-backed Woodpecker stripping the bark away from this tree. A lifer for me.

This feeding platform provided us with a great opportunity to view colorful Pine Grosbeaks and Gray Jays close up.

3 area residents have set up bird feeding stations in or near their yards and these were filled with Pine Siskins, Redpolls and many other birds. Now we know where all the Pine Siskins and Redpolls are that are missing at our local feeders. They stayed up north this winter.

We plan on taking more field trips like this in the future. We all had such a great time.
Kathy J.

Winter Color

A tough morning to get up, a black sky and -15 degrees. After finally convincing myself there would be beauty I got a caffeine jolt, bundled up, and headed out. The creative mood was not there and driving around before sunrise I could have hit a moose and not realized it. I finally woke up after sunrise and saw a field of snow sparkles. An hour later, it was a new day.

Dale

Fisher Portrait

I checked my trail cam yesterday and found this fisher had posed for it. There were over 200 raccoon shots during the 10 days it was set up, most were butt shots and deleted. The fisher is a resident of hardwood and conifers so not common on Crex proper but common (and elusive) in suitable habitat on Fish Lake and along the St. Croix where this camera was set up. As with so many predators it is more active at night and eats a variety of foods, dead or alive. According to eNature it enjoys porcupines, I'd love to come upon a fisher killed porcupine.

On a side note, the hawk owl is still present in the same area but perches high on a pine tree so a little harder to spot.

Feeding Frenzy to Stay Warm

Sparrows at -15 Degrees from Dale Bohlke on Vimeo.

These guys were busy eating one morning about three weeks ago. I am bundled up in almost everything that fits and they are in feathers! It seems unusual to to see sparrows in January. To me they look like savannah sparrows. Bird identification is tough for me, perhaps someone has a firm ID. Ideas are welcome.

Dale

Favorite Photo Sharing

The photo club will meet on Saturday, February 6th, at 10 AM, in the Visitor Center. As always anyone interested in photography is welcome. If you would like to share images send them to crexphotog@gmail.com The file size should be between 1 and 5 Mb for best viewing. There is a limit to three images per person to allow everyone a chance to share. This meeting will be unique with each member also sharing their favorite photo, taken from anywhere in the world. Images are discussed and and critiqued by fellow club members.

Hope to see you there